Illustration: William Morris. Earthenware ceramic tile design, 1870s.
William Morris produced a number of ceramic tile designs throughout his career. Admittedly not as popular or as widely known as some of the other disciplines catered for by Morris & Co, namely textiles and wallpaper, they are still part of the library of work produced during the latter half of the nineteenth century by Morris and his collaborators.
The two sets of tile designs shown in this article were produced in the 1870s and consist of two tiles each, which in turn go to make up a male and female figure. They are perhaps a little disappointing in character and certainly in composition. Compared to the work being produced by such individuals as William de Morgan and Philip Webb, as well as the established English companies of Minton and Maw & Co, it seems surprising how seemingly ineffectual the tile work is. Even some of the ceramic tile work produced by Morris & Co during the 1870s, particularly those designed by Philip Webb, at least some of which stands out as interesting and original tile work on a par with the first phases of English tile work produced during the 1840s.
It seems as though tile work was not really Morris' forte and he seems to have struggled to find a clear definition of what ceramic tile work truly was. To be fair, there is no clear evidence that Morris produced the decorative effects on these two sets of tiles although they do look naive enough to have been produced by him. However, even though he may well have not been directly involved with their creation, he was in charge of their marketing and promotion, as all aspects of Morris & Co were kept under a tight leash by Morris himself. Therefore, he would have been well aware as to how these pieces looked as finished products which makes it all the more surprising how mediocre they appear when contrasted with the greater bulk of English tile work produced during this period. A period which was seeing a particular creative high point, one that it would probably never reach again, at least not on the scale seen during this particular era.
Illustration: William Morris. Earthenware ceramic tile design, 1870s
Ceramic tile work is a particular and original discipline that needs a specific and individual creative approach. This is not to say that it is impossible for artists and designers to be able to span more than one discipline and indeed a number have produced very effective and arresting tile design work. However, if the discipline is not approached at least with a modicum of sympathy and understanding, then the results can be both lacklustre and even confusing. The fact that these two Morris designs appear as compositions out of place with the practical discipline that should have been vigorously involved, perhaps says much about the initial intention of the project in the first place. That these figures look as if they have been taken directly from a painting or tapestry design and then placed on a ceramic background, adds to their ineffectual appearance.
What is perhaps more surprising is Morris continual and practical approach throughout his career, to the tenet that honesty to materials and sympathy with the craft discipline being used, was ultimately one of the most important aspects entailed in creative work. That he should have seemingly wavered from this practical mantra is confusing. However, it is perhaps important to make personal judgements concerning the entire work of a creative career and not just those that proved most popular or enduring, as the whole panoply of work gives a much better insight to the individual than the seemingly obvious successes.
It is perhaps unsurprising that these particular Morris designs seem largely forgotten compared to his other ceramic tile work. This is not to say that this type of decorative work was not popular during the latter half of the nineteenth century, it was. However, this type of work added little to the genre and compared to the wide-scaling creatively flexible work produced by William de Morgan for example, this particular phase of Morris decorative output is probably best left undiscovered.
Further reading links:
William Morris Full-Color Patterns and Designs (Dover Pictorial Archives)
William Morris: Patterns & Designs (International Design Library)
Designs of William Morris (Phaidon Miniature Editions)
William Morris (Temporis)
William Morris
William Morris on Art and Socialism
The Beauty of Life: William Morris and the Art of Design
V&A Pattern: William Morris: (Hardcover with CD)
The Essential William Morris Anthology (12 books) [Illustrated]
William Morris and Morris & Co.
William Morris and the Arts and Crafts Home
William Morris
William Morris Decor and Design
The Gardens of William Morris
William Morris Designs CD-ROM and Book (Full-Color Electronic Design Series)
William Morris Giftwrap Paper (Giftwrap--4 Sheets, 4 Designs)
